UMES hosts Black History Month events

PRINCESS ANNE, MD - (Jan. 21, 2014)-African-American art from the David C. Driskell Center will be among the featured events at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore during Black History Month next month.

The exhibit opens with a reception Feb. 6, from 4-6 p.m. in the Mosely Gallery located in the Thomas Briggs Arts & Technology building on UMES’ campus.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to view and gain an appreciation of so many important works of African-American art history,” said Susan Holt, UMES’ Mosely Gallery director.

Some 30 pieces of African-American art on loan from the center will be on display, Holt said.The works span eight decades with varying themes, styles and types of media “to embody a cross section of this visually and thematically rich history.” Twenty artists are represented including nine pieces by Driskell, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland College Park.

The Driskell Center, housed at the College Park campus since 2001, was created to honor its namesake, an artist, collector and art historian.He is a leading authority on African-American art and the black artist in America, Holt said. Driskell’s artworks are part of collections in the National Gallery of Art and the Yale University Gallery.Former president Bill Clinton awarded Driskell the National Humanities Medal in a 2000 White House ceremony for his exhibit “Two Centuries of Black American Art:1750-1950,” which laid the foundation for the field of study, Holt said.He is also designated as a National Academician by the National Academy.

Driskell is scheduled to visit the UMES campus Feb. 25 for a 3 p.m. gallery talk about his collection and life work.All events in conjunction with the exhibit are free and open to the public.Call 410-651-7770 for more information or visit www.moselygallery.com.

For information on other Black History Month events including an Interfaith Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 21, and a lecture by Morgan State’s Dr. Dale Green on “The Hill,” a significant African-American archeological site in Easton, Md., visit www.umes.edu.